Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2014 and Beyond

By 2020, a majority of knowledge worker career paths will be disrupted by smart machines in both positive and negative ways. Near-term flag: Virtual personal assistant usage in business grows more quickly in 2017 and 2018 than iPad usage did in 2010 and 2011.

Gartner forecasts that smart machines will upend a majority of knowledge workers' career paths by 2020. Smart machines exploit machine learning and deep-learning algorithms. They behave autonomously, adapting to their environment. They learn from results, create their own rules and seek or request additional data to test hypotheses. They are able to detect novel situations, often far more quickly and accurately than people. IT professionals need to recognize that smart machines can create substantial competitive advantages, as well as entirely new businesses.

Gartner, Inc. has revealed its top predictions for IT organizations and IT users for 2014 and beyond. Gartner's top predictions for 2014 combine several disruptive topics — digital industrial revolution, digital business, smart machines and the Internet of Things — that are set to have an impact well beyond just the IT function.

"Gartner's 2013 CEO survey suggests CEOs feel that business uncertainties are declining and yet, CIOs awake each day into a world of technology uncertainty and change," said Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "The savvy CIO will get his or her CEO to recognize the change being brought about by disruptive shifts is coming at an accelerated pace and at a global level of impact."